Irons

Why is a waffle iron called a waffle iron?

The simplest explanation is that it’s two pieces of hot, heavy metal that squeeze the batter until you have a delicious, golden waffle, in the same manner that an iron presses on clothes, removing wrinkles. But, why isn’t an iron for clothes called a clothes iron?

And isn’t a George Foreman Grill essentially a meat iron? It’s two pieces of hot, heavy metal that press down on meat. Why don’t we call that a meat iron? Likewise, what about sandwich presses? Same basic concept, but we don’t call those sandwich irons. We call them sandwich presses or, if we’re being fancy, panini makers.